10 Largest Health Insurance Companies by Membership

The American healthcare insurance system is complex and has been a bone of contention in the country’s politics for decades, one that the 10 largest health insurance companies by membership have had to wade through. The problem of healthcare insurance in the U.S was recently brought into the limelight by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who talked about his newborn son’s pre-existing heart condition and the perplexing discrimination of insurance programs.

The election of Donald Trump and his insistence on repealing and replacing Obamacare has made millions of Americans confused and scared for the future of their healthcare insurance. Last week, the House approved legislation to repeal and update major parts of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). According to a report, replacing Obamacare with the “American Health Care Act” (AHCA) will leave 24 million Americans uninsured. Experts also think that replacing Obamacare will affect employment-based insurance and government-sponsored insurance plans.

According to a recent survey by Gallup, the number of uninsured Americans increased to 11.3% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to 10.9% in the third and fourth quarters of 2016. Gallup analyst Zac Auter thinks that the rise is partly attributable to the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act. Experts also believe that replacement of Obamacare will result in increased insurance premiums. Healthcare companies have extended the announcement of their 2018 premiums until July amid the confusion regarding Obamacare. Companies are also clueless as to when they’ll be receiving federal subsidies to help cover people on individual insurance plans.

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A new comprehensive study of the possible outcomes of Trumpcare suggests that the new health law will force low-income families to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more for insurance. The state of Maryland has already requested premium increases from the five insurers in its market.

There are two main insurance programs offered in the U.S healthcare system, Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is a special assistance program for older citizens, while Medicaid is for low-income individuals and those with other financial needs. There are several insurance companies in the country covering millions of Americans. Earlier this year, we compiled a list of the 10 largest health insurance companies in America in terms of revenue. In this article we’ll reveal the 10 largest health insurance companies by membership. Check it out beginning on the next page.

10.WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG)

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE:WCG) is a Florida-based healthcare company which covered about 3.68 million Americans under the Medicare and Medicaid managed care health plans. WellCare’s recently reported its first quarter results, according to which it earned $1.61 per share on $3.92 billion in revenue, better than analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 in EPS and $3.86 billion in revenue. WellCare expects to earn $6.55-$6.80 per share this year.

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9. Highmark

Highmark, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare company which serves 29 counties in Western Pennsylvania, has 5.3 million members. The company offers the largest health plan in the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.

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8. Kaiser Permanente

Next on the list of the 10 largest health insurance companies by membership is Kaiser Permanente, a California-based managed care consortium, which was founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. As of the end of 2016, Kaiser had a total of 10.7 million members. The company added 429,000 members in 2016, an increase of 4.2% compared to 2015. Earlier this year, Kaiser Permanente completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of non-profit healthcare organization Group Health Cooperative.

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7. Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) is a major healthcare company that serves as an intermediary for both government-sponsored and privately-insured programs. Last year, Centene completed its acquisition of Health Net, after which the company provided health insurance for about 11 million members. Centene recently reported a stellar first quarter, earning revenue of $11.7 billion, about 68% more than its revenue reported for the same period of last year.

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6. Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM)

As of the end of 2016, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM)’s healthcare insurance had 14.23 million members. On Wednesday, the company reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit thanks to Medicare Advantage, which manages government-sponsored health benefits for the elderly and people with disabilities. Medicare Advantage is the fastest-growing government health program, and accounts for about one-third of the 55 million people covered by Medicare.

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5. CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI)

CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) had 14.7 million members of its health insurance offerings as of 2015, which is estimated to have dropped to 11.4 million by the middle of last year. Last month, investment firm Jefferies upped its price target on Cigna to $178 from $172 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock.

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4. HCSC

We are continuing our list of largest health insurance companies by membership with HCSC, or Health Care Service Corporation, that is the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is a federation of 36 separate U.S health insurance companies. HSCS was founded in 1936. The company covers 15 million Americans, mostly in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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3. Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET)

Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) stands in third place on the list of the largest health insurance companies by membership. The Connecticut-based healthcare giant has about 23 million members as of the end of March 2016. Aetna recently reported a quarterly loss of $381 million, thanks to the costs associated with the termination of its proposed $34 billion merger with Humana.  In January, a U.S district judge blocked the Aetna/Humana merger amid concerns that the companies would become too powerful as a single entity.

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2. Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM)

Indiana-based Anthem is the second-largest health insurance provider in terms of membership. Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM)’s membership in 2016 increased by 3.4% to reach 39.4 million. That growth was mainly driven by Medicaid membership, which falls under the Affordable Care Act. Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM)’s $54 billion merger with Cigna was recently blocked by a U.S appeals court, which upheld a lower court’s decision that the merger would result in higher prices in the market.

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1. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stands at the top of the list of the 10 largest health insurance companies by membership, boasting a total of 70 million members in all categories of its insurance programs. UnitedHealth has three main insurance programs: UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement, and UnitedHealthcare Community & State. In 2016, the company added 2.2 million new members to its Medicare, Medicaid and commercial product lines.

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Disclosure: None